Faux Pas

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." said Marilyn Monroe.

The experience that I am going to share with you today took place in my life a while ago but when I look back, it still makes me laugh. Such experiences, however silly they may appear on the face, when put together are called 'LIFE'.

I prefer to travel light. When I say travel light, I mean I do not like to carry extra baggage, not only while travelling out of station but also while hanging out with friends. I do not like to carry the huge tote bags generally the other girls like to flaunt. I carry only the required items like phone, cash, cards etc. in my pockets and I set out.

I did exactly that the other day when I and my friend planned to go ten-pin bowling in a gigantic mall. We also planned to catch a show of 'Up in the Air'.

It was an uneventful day. I managed to throw a 15 lb. ball at an average speed of 12.5 mph. My average score of three games was 150, slightly better than my friend. Thereafter, we ate our lunch and went to the movie as decided. After exiting the cinema hall, we took an escalator to get to the exit to the car park when a huge Nine West outlet caught my attention.

I had been looking for a small bag, so we went to check out their collection. After trying on some bags, I eventually liked one. I walked up to the counter and requested them to bill the bag, handing them over my card. The cashier was about to swipe the card, when something irked him. He looked at the card and then looked back at me.

I said “Could you please hurry up?”

He again looked down at the card and replied, “Ma’am, it won’t work.”

I said, “Why? Is something wrong with your machine?”

He said, “No ma’am! The machine is fine but the card is not.”

Me: “Huh?? What is wrong?”

He said, “It’s a metro card ma’am!” returning the card back to me.

I quickly grabbed the card from him, scrutinized it carefully, and flipped it over a couple of times only to find it to be a metro card. I was flushed. How the hell did it happen? A little flashback revealed that the metro card and my debit card were of the same colour and hence the confusion.

Fortunately, my friend rescued me from that embarrassing situation. But that embarrassing situation brought a little change in my lifestyle. I have taken to carry a very small wallet which is girlie, smart and slips comfortably in my pocket and still allows me to travel light.

Stefan, Me and Damon

He appears to be somber though generally polite. He is in control of his emotions most of the time. If I were to describe him, I would call him very loving. I have been with him for past three years. During this time, he has been selfless and patient, He has also served me dedicatedly and not even once, he gave me a reason to complain. I appreciate his loyalty. He has been with me through thick and thin and always found a way to bring me joy. His name is Stefan.

Damon, on the other hand, is charming, intelligent, agile and elegant. I have been spending most of my time with him, not willingly though. It is for this reason that I care a good deal about him as well. And considering the amount of time we spend together, it would not be wrong to call him my boyfriend. And since his advent in my life, my relationship with Stefan has gone sour. Damon hates Stefan.

Now, if you're remotely like me who doesn’t share any personal information with an outlier, Damon in this case, and are also not able to spend much time at home either then more often than not, you will hear your family howl. Naturally, with my demeanor lately Stefan feels alienated. I tried to explain that I am not doing so advertently but he doesn’t listen. He is very understanding but a little possessive you know.

I tried to pacify Stefan. In this endeavor, I thought spending some quality time with him may help. It led to some problems, however. At first, I keyed in the incorrect windows password, the one I use to unlock Damon. After two attempts, I reminded myself that it is Stefan and not Damon I am dealing with.

Then, when I tried to access my personal email account, I fed my outlook password. Fortunately, after only one attempt, I realized my mistake and I saved myself from locking my email account but behold for what happened next!!! I could not save myself from locking my online checking account.

At this juncture, I apologized to Stefan and announced my decision to maintain distances. I promised to come back to him at small intervals. Presently, I am counting on my phone to save me from any further confusion. Stefan felt sad but agreed considering the amount of trouble I went through. My heart goes for him.

My dear reader, If I left you puzzled, then please know that Stefan is my beloved personal laptop, the 'loyal' one and Damon is my official laptop that is trying to get in between me and Stefan. And no! my name is not Elena nor I have a doppelganger called Katherine.

Seize Every Opportunity to Do Good.

“We are here on Earth to do good to others. What the others are here for, I don't know.” W. H. Auden

I must be around 14 when I came across the above quote but its meaning did not really dawn upon me until early last week. I happen to meet an age-old friend, who is also a philanthropist. He has been associated with many NGOs all through his life and by virtue of being a friend, he has helped me doing my share of good to the society. However, this is the first time when he has come any closer to materializing his own dream. He is drawing a bead on establishing a school for poor children, where the world class education can be provided to children at no cost at all, where the deserving candidates can be given a level-playing field, and where there is no reservation for any caste or creed. This project has taken him around the world.

During one of his trips, he met many interested investors but he is looking for someone who genuinely wants to contribute to the society and help the mankind without any selfish strings attached. And when he finally zeroed in on one sponsor, he did mention "Don’t think you're doing any favor to me. You're fortunate to have been given a chance to do good. Grab it if you can."

True as God. Not so often that you're given an opportunity to do good, not even if you're willing and you've the means. Consider this.

The other day, I arbitrarily decided to feed some people. Initially, I thought it will not be a challenge considering the population living below the poverty line but it may surprise you to know that I drove around the city for 45 minutes because I could not find a soul. What about the shacks, you may ask? Yes, I did come across many shacks on the side of the roads but I just couldn’t barge in to someone's house and offer them food. It would have been demeaning. I also met a few kids playing by the side of the road. When I asked them whether it’s all right with them if I offer them food, they looked at each other first and then looked at me with disdain. I realized dropping the ball in less than a second and quickly apologized before I was hanged by the neck.

Eventually, I reached a construction site. I humbly inquired if they had their lunch yet and if they would allow me to treat them. I was fortunate that they accepted my proposal and I returned home happily. It’s easy to do things for your loved ones; it comes naturally when they are related to you. But doing anything for a stranger without an expectation for a reward gives you a sense of gratification, which can’t be put into words. Try it if you havent done so yet, you’ll know what I am talking about.

Bread cast on the water comes back to you. The good deed you do today may benefit you or someone you love at the least expected time. If you never get to see the benefit, at least you will have made the world a better place. After all, isn't that what life is all about.